SAMOA NEWS VIA BARRY MARKOWITZ Leaeno Frank Reid's residence in the village of Matu'u was damaged after Hurricane Olaf passed about 70 miles north of the island of Tutuila two days ago. Overall, there was little damage on Tutuila, beyond some peeled-back roofs.

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Boat crews
stranded by Olaf

A Coast Guard plane from Hawaii has been searching for boats that were damaged or missing in the wake of Hurricane Olaf, which hit three islands in American Samoa.

The C-130 plane located seven crew members yesterday aboard a 68-foot fishing vessel called Samoan Boy, which had been reported missing for more than 36 hours, 50 miles north of Manua.

Two days ago the plane located a fishing boat called Princess Karlinna after the vessel sustained steering problems during the storm.

All members on board were safe, but three were injured. Crew members from a rescue vessel helped the fishing boat restart its motors to head to Pago Pago.

The Category 5 storm moved out to sea after passing within 60 miles of American Samoa's Manua Islands, where winds of up to 160 mph and rain destroyed homes, causing landslides and downing power lines. The Manua Islands of Tau, Ofu and Olosega were directly hit by the hurricane.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries from the islands, home to some 2,000 people, but many houses were seriously damaged, officials said.

Olaf was expected to head toward the southern Cook Islands, which suffered glancing blows from Hurricanes Nancy and Meena in the past two weeks.

In other rescue action, crew members of a New Zealand P3-Orion airplane are searching for two people who were aboard a fishing vessel called Tautai II. Four of the six crew members were found by a nearby fishing boat. It is unknown where the fishing vessel sank, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jennifer Johnson, spokeswoman for the Coast Guard.

The fishing boat carrying the four crew members are on their way to Apia, Johnson said. A second Coast Guard C-130 plane from Elizabeth City, N.C., was to arrive at Barbers Point yesterday. The plane is expected to leave for Pago Pago today to drop off equipment to be used to conduct surveillance of the affected areas. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are also expected to be on the plane.

The Coast Guard cutter, Seattle-based Polar Star, has been diverted to Manua to assist in search-and-rescue efforts. The 399-foot polar icebreaker was on it way back to Seattle after a six-month deployment in Antarctica. It is expected to arrive in Manua on Sunday.

According to Bob Fenton, operations chief for FEMA's Region 9, American Samoa Gov. Togiola Tulafono requested a major disaster declaration from President George Bush. "We're in the process of responding to that," Fenton said.

The American Red Cross-Hawaii Chapter is expected to send an assessment team to Pago Pago today.

Cassandra Isidro, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, said officials will make a decision on what type of assistance is needed. Hawaii volunteers will be working with those in the American Red Cross-Samoa Chapter, Isidro said.

Keoni Wagner, spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines, said the airline resumed service to American Samoa yesterday.

"We'll be back on normal schedule tomorrow," Wagner said. A flight to Pago Pago departed Honolulu yesterday. The flight is expected to return today. Hawaiian Airlines schedules flights to and from Pago Pago for every Monday and Friday.

Polynesian Airlines delayed its Wednesday flight to Samoa, formerly Western Samoa, due to the storm. A flight to the capital, Apia, was rescheduled to leave this morning.